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Wa (Japan)
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Image:WaKanji.jpg thumb|200px|[[Ideogram for '''''Wa''''', formed by the radical for "person" (on the left), and the phonetic element "Wei" on the right (itself represented by a rice plant in the upper part and a woman in the lower part).]]
{{nihongo|'''Wa'''|å€|}} is an ancient name of
Japan used by ancient
China Chinese,
Korean, and Japanese dynasties. Today the character for Wa is often written as 和 (also pronounced Wa) in the Japanese language. For example, "English-Japanese Dictionary" in Japanese is ''Ei-Wa Jiten'' (英和辞典), where Wa in this usage refers to the Japanese language. The first written record of Japan (then in the
Yayoi period,
300 BC-
250 250 AD) is found as Wa in ''Wei Zhi'' (é?å¿—) of ''
San Guo Zhi''. Japanese had also called themselves or their country as ''Wa'' until the end of 7th century.
Etymology
The character '''å€''' (
Chinese language Chinese pronunciation: ''WÅ?'';
Korean language Korean pronunciation: ''Wae'';
Japanese language Japanese pronunciation: ''Wa'') also has the meaning "dwarf". The character is related to the standard character for "short" (矮, as in 矮人), which is written with a different radical (an "arrow", instead of a "person", with the same "Wei" phonetic element). It is uncertain whether the character ''Wo'' first referred to the Japanese as a people, or if it was a pre-existing word meaning "dwarf" that was borrowed to refer to the Japanese. In either case, the Japanese were often stereotyped as being short in stature in ancient China and Korea, a stereotype which has only lost its currency in the 20th Century. Because of this connotation, the Japanese have subsituted the character å€ (dwarf) with å’Œ (harmony), the latter character is also pronounced Wa in Japanese. Due to sensitivity of its connotations, the character å€ today is only used in historical contexts in both Chinese and Japanese.
Contacts with the state of Wu (5th century BCE)
Ambassadoral visits to
Japan by the later Northern Chinese dynasties
Northern Wei Dynasty Wei and
Jin Dynasty (265-420) (''Encounters of the Eastern Barbarians'', Wei Chronicles) recorded that the Japanese people claimed to be descendents of Taibo of the
Wu (state) Kingdom of Wu (�国), refugees after the fall of the Wu state in the 5th century BC (History books do have records of Wu Taibo sending 4000 males and 4000 females to Japan). Historical records also show that the ancient Japanese had similar lifestyles and customs as pre-Sinicized inhabitants of the Wu Kingdom, including tattooing, ritual teeth pulling and baby-carrying on backs.
:é?略：「å€äººè‡ªè¬‚太伯之後。ã€?
:晉書：「自謂太伯之後，å?ˆè¨€ä¸Šå?¤ä½¿è©£ä¸åœ‹ï¼Œçš†è‡ªç¨±å¤§å¤«ã€‚ã€?　列傳第å…å??七 四夷
:資治通鑑：「今日本å?ˆäº‘å?³å¤ªä¼¯ä¹‹å¾Œï¼Œè“‹å?³äº¡ï¼Œå…¶æ”¯åº¶å…¥æµ·ç‚ºå€ã€‚ã€?
The Wa in the Liang-Shu (7th century)
The 7th century Chinese chronicle
Book of Liang (Liangshu,
Chinese language Chinese: �書) describe the Wa as a Japanese people apparently living in
Kyushu, in the Kingdom of
Yamatai.
''The people are all tattoed. Their territory is about 20,000 li (1,500 kilometers) from our realm, roughly to the east of Guiji (modern Shaoxing (Zhejiang)). To get there, it is necessary to follow the coast and go beyond the Korean state to the south-east for about 500 kilometers, then for the first time cross a sea to a small island 75 kilometers away, then cross the sea again for 75 kilometers to Miro country ''(Chinese: 未盧國, modern Tosu, Saga Tosu city in Saga Prefecture, Japan)''. 50 kilometers to the southeast is the country of Ito ''(Chinese: 伊都國)''. 10 kilometers to the southeast is the country of Nu ''(Chinese: 奴國)''. 10 kilometers to the east is the country of "Bumi" ''(Chinese: ä¸?彌國)''. 20 days to the south by boat is the country of "Touma" ''(Chinese: 投馬國)''. 10 days to the south by boat or one month by land is the country of Yamatai ''(Chinese: 邪馬臺國)''. There resides the King of the Wa people.'' (Chinese: å€è€…　自云太伯之後　俗皆文身　去帶方è?¬äºŒå?ƒé¤˜é‡Œã€€å¤§æŠµåœ¨æœƒç¨½ä¹‹æ?±ã€€ç›¸åŽ»çµ¶é? 　從帶方至å€ã€€å¾ªæµ·æ°´è¡Œã€€æ´éŸ“國　ä¹?æ?±ä¹?å?—　七å?ƒé¤˜é‡Œå§‹åº¦ä¸€æµ·ã€€æµ·é—Šå?ƒé¤˜é‡Œã€€å??瀚海　至一支國　å?ˆåº¦ä¸€æµ·å?ƒé¤˜é‡Œã€€å??未盧國　å?ˆæ?±å?—陸行五百里　至伊都國　å?ˆæ?±å?—行百里　至奴國　å?ˆæ?±è¡Œç™¾é‡Œã€€è‡³ä¸?彌國　å?ˆå?—水行二å??日　至投馬國　å?ˆå?—æ°´è¡Œå??日　陸行一月日　至邪馬臺國 å?³å€çŽ‹æ‰€å±…, Liang Shu, 7th century)
See also
*
Wokou (å€å¯‡)
*
Names of Japan
*
San Guo Zhi
*
Kingdom of Wei
*
Yayoi
*
Fusang
External links
-
Text of the ''Wei Zhi'' (é?å¿—) of ''San Guo Zhi'' (Chinese and Japanese)
-
Chinese historical accounts of the country of Wa (Chinese and Japanese)
Category:Ancient Japan
Category:Former countries in Chinese history
Category:History of China
es:Wa (Japón)
ko:왜
ja:å€
fi:Wa (Japani)
zh:å€
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